Mensa Otabil - He Came to His Own
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John chapter 1, verses 10 and 11. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. The testimony of John’s gospel shifts from John the Baptist back to the Word of God, Jesus Christ, and it says some profound things about Jesus in these two verses. First, that he was in the world; the Word of God, who created the world, came into the world. So, he came into the world.
Did God ever come into a world? Did the Word of God ever come? Yes, God reached out to us through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that’s the uniqueness of the Christian faith. The Christian faith is not about man trying to reach God; it is about God reaching out to us. It is the opposite of religion. Most religions talk about man’s effort to know God, but Christianity talks about God reaching out to us that we may know him. He made the first effort to reach out to us; he was in the world. Jesus came into our world, and when we receive him, then we have life in him. Then it says the world did not know him. He came to the world; the world did not know him.
Now, while the word «world» is talking about all creation, everything God has created, the particular reference is to human beings in the world, the people of the world. He came to the people of the world, and they did not know him. The creator of the world came to his world, and the people of his world could not perceive him. Of course, if the creator of the universe were to come, they would expect that he would come in a majestic form, but he came as a baby in a manger, in a forgotten part of the world, in an insignificant way, from a very poor family.
All of these did not mark him out as a prestigious individual because we’re looking for something huge and very impressive. He came to his world, but our expectations were wrong, and so we couldn’t make him out. Then it says he came to his own. His own there talks about the Jewish people. Jesus Christ came for the entire world, but naturally, he was in the Jewish community; his mother was a Jew. He lived in the Jewish community, and so he lived in a very precise geographical and historical part of the world, and those people did not receive him. Here it’s talking about God reaching out to us, and we did not receive his effort, and that is the story of the human race.
Many times, you know, God reaches out to us; he speaks to us, his word comes to us, he wants to draw us to himself, but we reject him. The judgment that comes upon the human race is not just that we did bad things or good things necessarily; it is that God reached out to us, and we didn’t welcome him. It is our refusal to acknowledge God’s approach, God’s effort, God’s love, God’s reaching out to us, that is what condemns us in judgment, because God reached out to us, and we did not receive him. His own did not receive him.
In a sense, we can appreciate this as human beings because we still know in our world today many who do not receive Jesus Christ as Lord. They’ve turned their backs on him; he’s reached out, he died, he was crucified, he did all of that for the human race, but we’ve turned our backs on him, and that’s our choice. But that choice will also determine how we are judged in the final judgment. May the Lord help us to receive the gift of life that comes through Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. With me, Heavenly Father, you have sent your word into our world. Open my heart to receive your word for my salvation. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.